MILAN ¨C Defending Olympic 1,000-meter speedskating champion Miho Takagi said her formula for success remains unchanged as the Japanese gears up for the Milano Cortina Winter Games, prioritizing refinement over wholesale changes.

The 31-year-old, who stormed to Olympic gold in Beijing 2022 with a record-breaking ?1:13.19 in the 1,000m and added three silver medals to ?become Japan¡¯s ?most decorated female Olympian, insists her approach remains ?grounded despite high expectations.

¡°What I need to do does not really change,¡± Takagi told the Olympic website. ¡°The most important thing is to keep my physical condition as good as possible.

¡°I work on both the core areas ?I have been focusing on for a long time and some new elements that come up day by day. Rather than trying to ?do too many things, I think improving the quality of each part is the most direct path ?forward.

¡°In the end, ?it comes down to balancing my health ?and my skating. The approach to racing itself stays the ?same, ?but I want to keep improving the quality.¡±

Now a seven-time Olympic medalist, Takagi found an unexpected sense of ease at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, the venue set to host the speedskating events at the Games from Saturday.

¡°The atmosphere felt different from many of the rinks I have skated on in recent years. But for me, it actually felt familiar,¡± she said.

¡°When I was a child ?I ?trained a lot on temporary rinks, and the sound of the ice here reminded me of those days. Rather than ?feeling uncomfortable, it gave me a sense of familiarity.¡±

Takagi, who made her Olympic debut as a 15-year-old at Vancouver 2010, heads into her fourth Games with momentum after topping the women¡¯s ?1,500m at the 2025-26 ISU Speedskating World Cup.

But she remains measured about her early impressions in Milan.

¡°It was a short session today, so I want to judge my condition carefully over the next few days,¡± Takagi said.